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PS2 Preview - 'Guilty Gear X2'

The original Guilty Gear was first released for the Playstation gaming console, with Guilty Gear X making its debut on many platforms, including the PC. Now, we have Guilty Gear X2 for the Playstation 2, and it’s packing all of the goodness established by its predecessors. The gameplay is straightforward and very responsive. Each characters has a host of moves and devastating combos at their disposal, also there is an ultimate move called instant kill, which is true to its name. In Guilty Gear X2, there is no shortage of gameplay options for you to explore: classic story mode, in which each fighter has a quest which seems to revolve around one character named I-NO; multiplayer mode, which you play against the AI or a friend; survival mode, which is pretty self-explanatory; another form of survival mode called M.O.M. mode, which, from what I can gather, involves you beating the stuffing out of your opponent so they drop extras like golden coin things and extra health to keep you going; arcade and training mode, which are pretty standard in every fighting game, and mission mode, which involves completing a set of tasks within a fight. Mission mode tasks range from beginning with little health to fighting a super-charged player that can hit twice as fast as you. As you can tell, Guilty Gear X2 provides a whole slew of options to keep you going long after you have completed the story.

The graphics of Guilty Gear X2 are of the highest standard, as we have come to expect from professional anime. Guilty Gear X2 holds true to its anime roots and sports the classic 2D cartoon look and gives you that fast-paced mash buttons feel while fighting, and the graphics and effects move fast and are fluent, keeping you on the edge of your seat. The character design is phenomenal, and each character offers and portrays their attitude just by their stance and actions. Each level has its own look and feel, and the background can be static at times, but you usually don’t notice because there is so much action occurring during the match. The graphics are awesome and are of the 2D old-school style that I love. With a 3D graphics engine, you’re limited to the engine’s capabilities, and the advantage of a 2D graphics engine is that the artist’s imagination is uninhibited so they can create outstanding and out-of-this-world effects, moves, and backdrops. I’m not trying to say that the 3D fighting games of today aren’t spectacular and can rival the 2D engine, but I just feel that 2D “drawn” fighting games will always be able to better represent the artist’s vision. *wink* *wink*

Excellent audio is essential to keeping you in the game and Guilty Gear X2 offers it in full. Guilty Gear X2’s soundtrack is entirely rock-based so as you battle, you are treated to awesome guitar riffs and thumping tunes that only add to the fast paced feel offered by this game. The sound effects are excellent and accompany every move you make, whether it’s basic, combo, or special. These sound effects aren’t your standard “thud” or “crack” but are unique to the anime genre and can only be utilized in a game such as this. Every character speaks entirely in Japanese, so during story mode, all of the dialogue is in Japanese but English subtitles are provided so you can follow the story.

Guilty Gear X2 offers outstanding graphics, superb sound, and loads of extras to keep you playing this game over and over again. I love the gallery feature, which allows you to replay the multiple movies and endings for each character, one from each of the game’s modes (i.e., story, arcade, mission, etc.). With Guilty Gear X2, you are not only watching an outstanding anime, but you are also playing it. Guilty Gear X2 is a welcome addition to the series, and I have a feeling that this will not be the last game to bear the Guilty Gear name. As far as playable characters are concerned, I can’t reveal too much, but just know that there are loads of characters at your disposal. Keep an eye out for this title, which will be released early next year.